Individuals from all over the world have fallen in love with the Whittemore books as is evidenced by the contributors to this Board. Ones nationality hardly matters, it seems, so whether a person of Arabic descent would react differently to the books is questionable.

There is a quality in Whittemores writing that appeals instantaneously to us devotees  it is as individual and inexplicable as taste in literature and music.

Whittemore in a way deals with archetypes and even though real places and real history are the background to the action of the novels, cities like Jerusalem, Cairo and Damascus are at the same time imbued with a sort of mystique. I cant see why a person familiar with those places, and with the history of them, should be any less susceptible to being entranced by the books despite their being written by a Yalie ex spook.

Someone on another message board described Whittemore as being unusual - an American looking at the Middle East with loving eyes.

And you, Ali, do you like the books? Judging by your name, I am assuming that you are Arabic, or of Arabic descent.

Anne

--Previous Message--: Anne, : I don't think it is possible to do an : "Arabic take" -- on anything, let : alone the Quartet, for all the usual reasons. : My view is that it's something of a strange : notion (to think) that there is a standard : "Arab" take on things, especially : literature. But I'd like to suggest here : that it may be possible to examine the text : of Nile Shadows, for example, to determine : the degree of, say, Orientalist, or, [choose : your fav post neo modernist litcrit poison : here], thinking permeating the text in the : context of his description of Cairo in the : early 40s. I mean: is this version more : authentic than Billy Wilder's Allied war : propaganda flic "5 Graves to : Cairo", Ondaatje's sensual caricatures : in "The English Patient", or the : sections in Pynchon's V that take place in : the Cairo of that era (I am think here of the : passages involving the Ezbekieh Gardens, much : of which appear to have been, um, lifted, : from some Baedeker). Taking political sides : on, for example, the question of the post : nakba subjugation and displacement of the : Palestinians is not really the heart of it : for Whittemore (at least I haven't come : across his empathy to it in his books): : let's face it: he was, after all, an ex : American spook, of white shoe Yalie origin, : who ended up doing, after coming in from the : khamaseen (with apologies to Le Carre), the : usual live cheaply somewhere in the exotic : (Middle) East and cook up some : phantasmagorical gum Arabico literary : concoction, in between sips of uzo, araak, : & (no doubt) puffs of Lebanese red mixed : in with his cheroot ceegars. But in his : particular case, he actually wrote real books : -- instead of just idly spending his time in : Crete (it could have been Malta, or anywhere : else like that for that matter), and : elsewhere, shacking up with various : temporary, arty squeezes, living on the cheap : off his CIA pension, and delivering : unpublishable riffs and rants disguised as : novelistic manuscripts. Instead, he produced : Sinai Tapestry in this manner, which actually : got published (thanks largerly to a Yalie : connection), and which I first came across in : '78. With all of this said, the point of my : original post, when I sat down to think about : it in replying to your kind post, gets at to : whether the Quartet bears more than a : tangential relationship to its actual subject : matter, one that resonates as authentic with : Arabic readers or readers of Arabic descent, : and if so, what is it? Maybe understanding : this may have a bearing on developing an : appreciation for the strengths and weaknesses : of his work in these books. : Ali : --Previous Message-- : Ali, : You raise an interesting point. I would also : like to hear an Arabic take on the novels. : Whittemore himself, as far as I understand : his books, didn't take sides and his approach : to the Middle East was holistic. : As you have raised this question, what are : your views? : I would be most interested in hearing them. : Anne : : --Previous Message-- : Wish there were some of that here - : particularly by readers of Egyptian, Syrian : or Palestinian descent. Nile Shadows, for : example, resonates differently when the : locale is in one's blood, so to speak, : however distantly. Just an opinion, of : course. : : : : : : :